


Don't Forget Your Power

by TimeWillNowResume



Category: Deltarune (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, child paps, child paps with a GAMING PC
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:53:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29096070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeWillNowResume/pseuds/TimeWillNowResume
Summary: Aside from being the only human in the monster-populated town of Hometown, Kris Dreemurr had lived a relatively normal life. It's not like he wasn't content about it, though; he tried his absolute best to remain as invisible as possible, which really is a commendable feat, given the whole only-human-in-the-whole-town thing.But, after he gets possessed, crashes down into another world below Hometown with the mean girl from his class, gets dubbed one of the Delta Warriors that will stop the world from collapsing, and then returns back to his world with the help of the aforementioned-mean-girl and a guy that kinda looks like his brother, he's really struggling to make sense of it all.But, no matter what the Dark World or anything else throws at him and the Fun Gang, they'll overcome it through the power of DETERMINATION.(AKA I'm writing a Post-Chapter One fanfic because I can't take the wait for Chapter 2 anymore.)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 14





	1. Heart-to-Heart

When Kris woke up, all he saw was black. Which made sense, given that his face was buried onto the carpet floor of his bedroom.

Kris gingerly pushed himself up. He wasn't thinking much, but he had a feeling deep in his gut that something important has happened, and he needed to check out said something now.

He pushed himself onto his feet, and slowly raised himself to a standing position. His eyes caught a dim glow emanating from the corner of their-or his room, now that Asriel was off to college- and he turned himself to face a glowing red heart.

And then he remembered.

And then he realized that remembering everything that happened yesterday at once was way too overwhelming, so he forced himself to take things slowly and think things through, one crazy event at a time.

Kris knew something was off with himself when he woke up. His brain didn't feel any different, but it was like his body was moving due to a force that wasn't his own. Why else would he flush the toilet three times without even using it?

Then, after being driven to school by his mom, he got roped into a group project with the edgiest person in his class: Susie. (Though it makes sense - he too would try to compensate if he was given a frilly name like Susie.) After slamming him into a locker and giving him not-so-subtle threats about making his face a gourmet meal, the two ventured into the supply closet to get some more chalk.

Except said supply closet turned out to be a portal to another world. Another world where Kris and Susie were hailed as legendary heroes sent from above to restore the balance between light and dark. It was there they met Ralsei, the third hero of the prophecy and the prince of dark, and Lancer, the prince-turned-king of Card Castle. The bad guy was defeated, and Kris and Susie went back to their home world.

And then, at the dead of the night, when Kris was sleeping (with all his clothes on - Kris guessed the heart didn't know how to go to sleep) when it happened.

Kris was suddenly thrown out of bed like a puppet that fell off its strings, and then was forced to claw inside his body to find the glowing heart now lying in front of him. And he couldn't remember the rest.

Kris shifted onto his left foot and felt something underneath his shoe - an unasssuming kitchen knife lay at his feet.

Well, good, at least he had a weapon. Kris grabbed the knife with both hands and, holding it like a makeshift sword, slowly inched closer to the heart.

"I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can," Kris gripped the knife tighter, "Stay away from me. Leave this house and go back to wherever you came from." Kris's confidence gained as he advanced on the heart. "I'm gonna open the cage. If you try to possess me again, I'm gonna slice you into tiny heart bits!"

_Do you really want to hurt me?_

Kris jumped back. He turned around, trying to locate where the voice had come from. "W-Where are you hiding!?" Kris yelled, slowly turning a full circle before turning back to the heart. "What do you want!?"

_I'm still here_ , the voice said. _The reason you can't locate the source of my voice is because I'm directly beaming my message into your consciousness. It's sort of like a heart-to-heart. But, you haven't answered my_ _question._ The heart remained unmoving, almost like it was bored with him. _Do you want to hurt me?_

"Well, not really... but, why did you possess me yesterday?" Kris asked, lowering his guard at the unexpected question.

_Well, if you don't really wish to hurt me, then there's no reason to hold that_ _knife, now, is there?_ the heart quipped. _There isn't any malice or genuine intent in your actions to see me suffer. Your actions come from a mix of self-defense, and confusion, do they not?_

Kris took another step forward. "Well, it's not like what I'm trying to do is unjustified, isn't it? You're trying to possess me again, like a- a ghost!"

_I don't want to go back inside your body until we both figure out what's going on_ , the heart said calmly, like it was consoling a crazed lunatic. _We would definitely learn a lot more about each other if we stop being wary of each other and talk it out._ The heart moved a little, though it wasn't like it could go anywhere due to the birdcage. _I'm trapped inside this birdcage, so I couldn't attack you even if I had the will to do so._

Kris lowered his knife down a little - he hated to admit it, but the tiny heart had brought up a valid point. He sighed, and placed the knife on top of the foot of his bed. Kris sighed and said, "Alright. You first. Who are you and why did you possess me?"

_I'm... not sure who I am, but I can tell you what I am. I am a human SOUL, and I think I'm detached from my body. I guess that means I must have died._

"So you are a ghost!"

_...Yeah, I guess I'm technically a ghost_ , the heart admitted. _Though I didn't choose to possess your body. In fact, I wouldn't call it possession at all._

"What are you talking about?"

_I'm saying, if I really were fully possessing you, I would be able to do whatever I wanted with your body. The only actions I took were based on the actions that you would choose to take, the soul explained. It's why your flirting was atrocious; I was only able to act with the options you laid available to me. And, admittedly, you're terrible at pick-up lines,_ the soul chuckled.

"... you still made me eat moss in the castle's prison!"

_I wouldn't be able to if the thought never crossed your mind_ , the soul chided. _And besides, it worked out, didn't it? It restored all our HP!_

Kris was taken aback by what the heart had said. If it was telling the full truth, then Kris still had some control yesterday. After all, it was his decision to back away when the supply closet opened, and to dive in front of Susie to block the King's attack after be backstabbed all of them. "...then, what came over me when I threw you into the birdcage? Was that your doing?"

_I don't think so. The last thing I remembered before being stuck in this cage was trying to make you fall_ _asleep._

"So there's two of you!? It's not like I've had a history of being possessed by homicidal rage!"

_...I'm not sure. But I suspect the force that came over you may have followed me when I woke up in your body._

Kris wanted to ask one more question. "So, if you just 'woke up' in my body, why didn't you try to get out until now?"

_To tell you the truth, I wasn't aware that your soul was still in your body. I only started to suspect that I was sharing your body with you when I overwrote your SAVE file._

Kris wanted to call the soul a liar, but there was something in its words and the way it delivered them that almost made it sound like it was pleading with Kris to hear it out. Almost like Ralsei pleading to Kris and Susie to learn about his prophecy at the beginning of their journey. "Alright, I believe you." Kris said. He squatted over the birdcage. "But you and your psychotic friend can't possess me ever again. I guess I should try figuring out how to send you to the afterlife, or something." Kris started to pull the tarp over the cage's top.

_Wait! Hear me out!_

"I did, you just explained what you are."

_I wasn't finished!_ The soul protested. _You won't be able to go into the Dark World without my help!_

Kris stopped pulling the tarp. Now the little heart had his attention. "Really? Why's that?"

_Don't you remember how you had to use my soul to close the Card Castle's Dark Fountain and return home?_ The heart reminded him.

"Yeah, so what?"

_So, we've both had to rely on my power to get through the Dark World. Without it you wouldn't know how to FIGHT, to ACT, to lead Susie and Ralsei to the top of the castle!_

Kris wanted to throw the tarp over the SOUL's head, but he had to acknowledge it was right. But then he realized something.

"Wait a second, I have a human soul!" Kris realized. "Why do I need your help? I could just use my soul to-"

_You're not strong enough to do it_ , the soul cut him off. _You lack a certain power-_

"What ability? What's the difference between one human soul to another?"

_You might had meant that to be a rhetorical question, but I have an answer to that,_ the SOUL replied. _The power I'm talking about is an innate power. It's the ability exclusive to humans that allows their souls to continue on even after death. It's essentially the power derived from human will - or DETERMINATION._

Kris felt a chill go down his spine. He let the soul continue to speak.

_The fact that I'm able to converse with you even after death must mean that I have a lot of DETERMINATION. I don't mean to brag, because it's the honest truth. But you still need to tap into that power in order to go into the Dark World on your own._

Kris wanted to snap back at the heart and say he didn't need it - but he knew he'd be kidding himself. He barely had the will to wake up to go to school most of the time. "...so what you're saying is that I have to take you along from now on?"

_I won't try to possess you like I did yesterday, I promise,_ the soul eagerly promised. _I'll just be a voice at the back of your head, giving you advice on what you should do._

Kris liked that idea. Even though he hated not being in control of his own body, he'd be lying to himself if he said he didn't enjoy being with Ralsei and exploring the Dark World. It was almost like hanging out with his brother again.

And, he also made a new friend, something he hadn't done in years. There would be no way his path would cross with Susie without the soul and the Dark World's influences.

Gritting his teeth, Kris removed the tarp and slowly opened the birdcage door - before stopping himself one more time. "What are you getting out of this, anyway?"

_I want to figure out why I'm here. Tell me, why do you think you woke up with me in your body?_

Kris blinked. "Probably because I'm the only human around. I don't think human souls can possess monsters, right?"

_You're seriously the only human in your town?_ the soul remarked. _Strange... but that definitely gives me a clue. My body must be somewhere inside your town - or else I would have possessed some other human besides you._

Kris gulped as he understood the implications of what the soul had just said. He always fancied the idea of meeting another human, but the idea that there was a human corpse somewhere around Hometown was enough to scare him.

_I think if I find my body and find out who I was and what happened to me, I can find closure and pass on. But I can't do that inside this birdcage!_

"...so, if I let you back in my body, you'll give me the ability to visit the Dark World again. And in return, I'll help you find your body."

_Also, we would likely have to deal with the force that possessed you earlier tonight. But I'll try my best to keep you out of its control._

Kris stopped, and sighed. "Give me a minute to think about this, would you?" Kris asked as he got up and started to pace the room.

So, if he did decide to let the soul inside him, then he would have to deal with this third entity possessing him and potentially hurting the people closest to him.

However, with the soul, he'd be able to cross into the Dark World and fulfill the prophecy alongside his friends. And he would be able to bring peace to the soul beside him, which would probably fulfill his good-deed-of-the-year quota.

Kris turned back to the birdcage and opened the tiny door. "Alright, you've got a deal. Just uphold your end of the bargain, and I'll uphold mine."

_Excellent!_ the soul cried. The heart phased into Kris like honey into an empty jar, and disappeared within Kris's body.

Kris didn't immediately feel any different. He was still able to walk around and move on his own volition.

_Are you feeling alright?_

Kris stopped, realizing the voice was coming from within where his own heart was located. "I'm doing alright. I guess that means I can trust you now."

_Great! Now that means we can start working on your horrible flirting_ _skills!_

"You better shut up before I throw you back in there."

_Alright, alright!_ the soul relented. _But, seriously, I'm glad you decided to have me along. This might be just a hunch, but I have a feeling that your journeys in the Dark World and what happened to my body are related. It would explain why our paths crossed._

Kris looked outside his window. He could still see the stars drifting above him. "So, what do you think we should do first?"

_Get some rest first, definitely. We'll think about tomorrow when tomorrow comes._

Kris didn't argue with that. He was exhausted. He took off his shoes, but decided against switching into his nightclothes - it wasn't worth the hassle. He pulled the blanket over himself and started drifting off to sleep. Right before sleep took him, he heard a faint voice.

_I'm glad to work with you, partner._

"me too..."


	2. Meeting Susie

"Kris? Kris! Wake up!"

Toriel opened the blinds of Kris and Asriel's room. The light from the window shined into the room, hitting Kris's eyelids. As the combined efforts of the light and Kris's mom worked their way into his brain to break his peaceful sleep, Kris tried to pull the blanket over his head to delude himself into sleeping further. This didn't work, as Toriel dragged the blanket out of Kris's reach. Giving up, Kris propped himself up on his bed and looked with bleary eyes at his mom. "...Morning."

"My child, it's nearly 10 o' clock! I know it is the weekend, but you have been asleep since last evening!"

"...Yeah. Yeah, I have been sleeping since last evening."

Toriel sighed. "I know you wish to 'take it easy' since you don't have to worry about your academics, but you cannot just spend all the spare time you have trying to wake up."

"...wasn't planning to," Kris muttered.

Toriel looked at Kris in curiosity. _Perhaps I had misheard him, or he was just muttering to himself trying to clear the fog from his head,_ Toriel thought to herself. _I suppose I should leave him to his business._ Toriel got off of Kris's bed. "I was planning on making breakfast for the two of us. Would you like pancakes today? You hadn't eaten anything for breakfast when you went out to school."

Kris looked at Toriel. "Sure, that's great. Thanks, mom. Sorry for waking up late again."

Toriel gave Kris a warm smile. "At least you could afford to sleep in today." She left the room and headed to the kitchen.

Kris dropped to the floor and looked out the window. He could see Toriel's car parked outside, and the main road right behind it. The sun was shining brightly, and there were just enough clouds in the sky that you could still enjoy the sun without worrying about finding shade. He decided to stare out the window for a while before sleep finally left him for good.

 _Is it really already 10 AM? Did we really sleep that_ _long?_

Kris's heart skipped a beat, but then he quickly calmed down, remembering the events of the previous night. "It wasn't that long," Kris argued, addressing the heart.

 _If I decided to put you to rest at around last evening, even with last night's intervention, you would've had 10, no, at least 11 hours of uninterrupted sleep._ The soul gave a pause. _Your mother was right. You do have sleep issues._

Kris sighed, already exasperated. "Is this your way to wake me up? Just badger me until I get enough energy to-" Kris paused, feeling an unfortunate sensation near his gut. "Hey," Kris hissed. "You never thought of giving me a chance you take a leak, did you?"

_Oh._

A couple of seconds passed.

_No, I didn't._

After Kris relieved himself (with the other soul waiting in the bedroom, of course - he still valued his privacy), and endured an incredibly relieving feeling he hoped he'd never have the misfortune to experience again, he let the soul phase through him again and made his way to the dining table.

 _I'm sorry_ , the soul said. _When you're a soul, you tend to be disconnected from worldly needs such as hunger or thirst or using the bathroom._

That was another byproduct of the "possession" Kris experienced yesterday - he felt miserable (probably because he hadn't bathed, hadn't eaten or drank much, and hadn't relieved himself even once throughout his journey). He guessed that having an out-of-body experience gave him a better appreciation for the things he had, and he enjoyed his morning with the sweet-yet-crispy pancakes Toriel made for the two of them.

The two didn't talk much - they really didn't have much to talk about, since the day just started. After Kris finished his plate, he stood up and tucked in his chair. "Mom," Kris said. "I'm going out for a while to meet a friend."

Toriel blinked. _So he hadn't been muttering nonsense_ , Toriel thought. "Oh - is it the new friend you made yesterday?"

"Yeah, that one."

"That is wonderful. I am glad that you have started making friends again. But," Toriel said, "I thought you were firm in your resolution to keep to yourself. It is rather unlike you to, well, try to hang out with your friends." Toriel questioned him further. "Who is this friend of yours, anyway?"

Kris knew he only had a few moments to react before his mom grew suspicious. (Hey,) Kris thought to his hitchhiking soul, (Do you know how to bail me out of this? It's not like I can tell her the whole truth.)

_Tell her as much as you can. It'd be smart to not let anybody suspect about the Dark World, and if she suspects that you're lying to her, then she'd be on our tail._

(Seriously? Mom's gonna flip if she learned I made friends with-)

_Better than her learning about you spending the day yesterday in one mortal peril after another!_

Kris knew that the soul was right. He braced himself for the inevitable fallout. "Her name is Susie."

Toriel's eyes widened. "Susie? That girl that always gets into trouble?" Multiple emotions crossed her eyes - worry, a bit of fear, and a flash of protection that everybody knew was unique to Toriel - the unbridled resolve to burn whatever danger that could befall her sons. "Is she forcing you to do anything? If she is, don't worry. I have ways to-"

"No, mom, it isn't like that!" Kris blurted out.

Toriel raised her eyebrow, taken aback.

"...w-what I meant to say, was, Susie isn't really a bad person. She's actually really nice once you get to know her! Trust me!"

Toriel took one last look at Kris. "...You do not sound like you are being forced into this. Still, I did not expect you to befriend her of all people." She looked out the window. "Given what the poor thing's been through, it does make sense..."

Kris tilted his head. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh! Nothing!" Toriel shouted out, covering herself at the last minute. "Just mumbling to myself, that is all!"

Kris stared at his mom for a few seconds. "Well," he said, "I'll be heading out." He turned and headed towards the door.

"Make sure to get some food for lunch! Oh, and be back by dinner, too!"

"I will!"

Kris stood outside his house for a couple of seconds, blinking to let his eyes adjust to the sunlight.

 _So I suppose our first goal is to talk to Susie again,_ the soul inside Kris said. _Does this mean you want to go back into the Dark World?_

"No. Not yet, anyway. I have to tell her the truth."

_The truth about what?_

"About yesterday. I'm gonna tell her that you exist."

_A-Are you sure? We've both seen how she reacts to betrayal, and-_

"I am sure," Kris stated resolutely. "This is the first time in a while I've made a new friend before, and I don't want to screw it up."

_Then why tell her the truth now?_

"Because it's probably gonna come back to bite us if we don't. And, she does deserve to know the truth, anyway," Kris explained. "That's what friends do, right? They don't keep anything from each other."

The soul remained silent for a few seconds. _I understand. It's your decision, anyway, Kris._

"Thanks, partner," Kris said. "But first, I gotta go to the department store."

_Why there? Isn't straightening things out with Susie more important?_

"I need to get something for that first." And so Kris made his way to the department store, determined to see his plan through.

* * *

After leaving the store, finding Susie turned out to be pretty hard. They didn't give each other any of their contact information, and Susie just asked Kris to meet up at the Dark World again tomorrow. For all Kris knew, she could already be waiting at the supply closet. Fortunately, Hometown was a pretty small town, and Kris and the soul figured that they'd eventually find Susie if they just visited all the main locations in the town. Eventually, they found Susie hanging around Onion-San's lake, watching the water move due to Onion-san's movements.

Susie saw him first. "Hey, nerd!" Susie yelled, waving one of her arms to get the boy's attention.

"Hey, Susie," Kris responded. He jogged up to meet Susie at the edge of the lake.

"So, uh, sorry for not trying to meet up with you earlier," Susie said sheepishly, rubbing her hand by the top of her neck. "I probably should've left you something, like a cell phone number, or whatever."

"...It's alright," Kris replied, feeling even more guilty about what he was going to do. He placed his hands in his pants pockets, feeling for the box he brought with him from the store.

An awkward couple of seconds passed between them. "Well," Susie said, "Should we head to the school, or-"

"Not yet," Kris interrupted. The growing dread in his gut shifted around uncomfortably. He hoped the other soul didn't mind it.

"Why not?" Susie asked. "Nobody's gonna be there at the school, so we wouldn't have to worry about anyone peeping on us. We could just make our way-"

"Because-" Kris stammered, "Because- I need to tell you something."

A strange expression crossed Susie's face. "Tell me what," Susie commanded.

Kris then recognized the expression - it was the same guarded expression she gave him when they first spoke to each other outside the classroom yesterday. (Right, here we go.)

_It may be best if you show me to her._

(How do I do that?)

_Just try to will me out of your body._

Kris placed both of his hands near his chest, where he figured the soul resided. He closed his eyes and concentrated.

"Dude?" Susie asked. "What are you doing-WOAH!"

Kris felt something leave his body and drift into his hands. When he opened his eyes, he saw the heart floating a few centimeters above it. He showed the heart to Susie.

"Uh-" Susie stammered. "Dude- how'd you do that? I don't know much about humans or whatever, but that thing you're holding looks pretty important-"

"That's because this isn't my 'thing'," Kris said, shaking his hands to emphasize the tiny heart. "Or, this isn't my soul, to be precise."

Susie just stared, her eyes locked on the heart like it was going to explode or melt.

Kris took a deep breath. "This soul had been... controlling my actions for all of yesterday," Kris said. "I wasn't in control of my own body except for only a couple times, and even then for only a couple of seconds. I was only able to isolate myself from it last night." Kris avoided Susie's glance and focused on the heart. "...so, uh, yeah. I thought I'd let you know."

Susie kept on staring at the heart, her jaw agape. Eventually, she gained control of her jaw once more and closed it. A small smile crossed her lips. She let out a low chuckle.

"Susie, I-"

Susie's low chuckles turned into a deep laughter. "That's a hell of a joke, Kris! Seriously, that's hillarious!"

"...I wasn't-"

"I got thrown into an imaginary world with you, I spent the entire day running around with imaginary friends based off the random stuff that was in that supply closet, and the only real friend I thought I made wasn't even doing it because he wanted to! He was possessed by a GHOST!"

"Susie, that's not what-"

Susie snarled, her expression turning feral. "SHUT UP!"

_YOU SHUT UP._

Susie jumped back at the unexpected voice. "Who was that!?"

_I am the 'ghost' you were referring to, the soul that Kris is showing you. And you, Susie, are wrong._

Susie turned her glare at the soul. "How am I wrong? Kris meant everything he said just now, did he? This is the first time we've even actually met!"

_And that is what you're wrong about, Susie. Kris remained aware of his body throughout the entire course of the day. And even though I was controlling what he could do, I could only act based on the actions that he would take. So really, I was bringing out Kris's inner self._

(Does that mean eating moss, you jerk?)

 _(Please shut up and let me defend your case, Kris.)_ The soul began to address Susie again. _There were times that Kris momentarily broke out of my control, Susie. One of those times was when he threw himself to defend you from those spades the KING threw at you after he backstabbed us._

Something flickered in Susie's eyes, but she still held the same gritted look. She then felt something familiar prick at the back of her thought. (Seriously? She thought. Why now?) She coughed once, and twice, and then sent herself sprawling onto the ground in a coughing fit.

"Susie!" Kris yelled, rushing to her side, leaving the soul to drift to the grass beneath. He tried smacking her on her back to get rid of whatever was causing her coughing fit. Eventually, she was able to get her throat fixed and spat a burst of fire onto the ground.

Both Kris and Susie jumped back. "C-crap!" Kris yelled, as the fire growed to the size of a cozy campfire. "Onion-san, help us!"

A burst of water shot out from the water, gracefully intercepting its target and successfully putting out the fire. "No problem!" a voice deep in the water called as two tentacles retracted back into the link.

Susie, now in control of her breathing, looked at the destruction she caused. "Look," she said to Kris. "Just leave me alone for now, man. Please."

Kris put his hands in his pockets one last time, feeling the box. Fortunately, it wasn't lost during the fire. He walked up to Susie.

She glared at Kris. "I said leave-" Susie started to say before noticing the box Kris was holding.

"...It's a box of chalk. I bought it when I was going to meet you here," Kris explained. "I don't know why you'd need the chalk, but my mom said if you ever have a sore throat to eat something you like that would cool down your throat, and I don't know if this would do it, but I saw you eating the chalk when we first met and-" Kris stopped, suddenly. "Sorry. I'm babbling right now. Just- could you please take this chalk, if it helps you?"

If anybody else was doing what Kris was doing right now, she would throw them into the lake and leave Onionsan to deal with it, no exceptions.

But Susie wasn't an idiot. She didn't see any judgement in Kris's eyes, only concern and a bit of guilt.

If Kris is doing this on his own will, Susie thought to herself, then wouldn't what he just did count as an act of friendship? Giving her a gift to help her feel better?

Conflicting thoughts ran through her mind as both she and Kris sat in silence, Kris still holding out the box of chalk. She took a deep breath, and reached for a piece of chalk. She tried to swallow it as fast as she can to avoid the bitter taste (which is actually pretty tough, considering the chalk had to get through her razor-sharp teeth first), and felt the familiar cool sensation cascade down her throat. Better. She looked up at Kris.

"...actually, never mind. I kinda want to hang out with you," Susie said.

Kris's face lit up in a relieved smile. "Thanks."

Both Susie and Kris sat down, both staring at the box of chalk.

_I wouldn't mean to intrude on this moment, but could you pick me up? I can't exactly move here._

Both Kris and Susie looked at the soul. "Shut it, red," Susie said dismissively.

Kris looked again at Susie. "Hey, that's actually the perfect name for it!" Kris exclaimed. He picked up the soul and placed it back in his body. "Alright, we're gonna be calling you Red from right now, okay?"

_...That's not the worst name I could think of. I'll take it for now._

Kris pulled Susie up as well. "So, what do you wanna do today?"

Susie thought about it for a moment, turning her head up to the clouds. It really was a lovely day outside. "Well," she said, looking at Kris,"we still have to fulfill that promise I made yesterday..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thanks for reading!  
> If you're wondering why I chose Kris to be male, I chose so to further enforce that Kris is his own separate person, rather than Frisk or Chara being the culmination of whatever actions we choose during a game of Undertale.


	3. The Prophecy

Kris and Susie started to make their way back from Onionsan's lake and headed towards the school. Even though they'd have to cross half the town to get back to the school, neither of them minded the walking distance (y'know, small town and all). They walked side by side in companionable silence.

Suddenly, Kris spoke up. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

Kris pondered for a moment. "Why do you like eating chalk?"

Susie stopped walking and glanced back at Kris.

"I can't really know how chalk tastes like, because it'd probably kill me. And if the chalk doesn't kill me Toriel will," Kris added with a small chuckle. "So, what does chalk taste like for you?"

Susie put one of her hands on the chalk box Kris had given her. "I... don't take the chalk because of the taste."

Kris blinked. "Then why-"

"I got this fire breath I need to deal with because I'm a dragon."

Kris's eyes widened. "I thought you were a dinosaur!"

Susie's eyes narrowed. Kris, realizing what he just admitted, quickly backpedaled. "I, uh, heard that from some other kids in my class! And, you kinda do look like a dinosaur-"

"Well, I'm not," Susie said, cutting him off. "It's just - my tail and wings haven't grown fully yet, and every time I try to breathe fire, it just gets stuck in my throat and hurts like hell," Susie mumbled. "The chalk's kinda soothing, y'know? It helps fix whatever's happening for a while, so I keep using it," Susie explained.

Susie immediately regretted telling him the full truth. She was basically advertising something that she'd tried to get everybody to ignore over the past few years: she was dirt poor. Or at least poor enough to afford proper medication. She hoped that in a longshot of longshots, Kris didn't get the greater implications of what she just said.

Kris stared at the sidewalk under him for a few seconds before looking up. "Does that mean I should bring you more chalk? Y'know, to help you feel better?"

"Nah, don't worry about that," Susie said, waving a hand out in dismissal. "I know what to do to help myself. Not that I'm not grateful for the chalk or anything."

Kris wasn't sure what to do, so he decided to ask for some guidance. (Hey, shouldn't I try to give her things that help her out? Isn't that what friends do?)

_...I believe people like gifts that they genuinely want. If she doesn't want chalk from you, then don't try to give her chalk._

Kris saw the wisdom in the soul's advice. He was beginning to appreciate its help more and more, now that it wasn't directly controlling his actions anymore. "So..." Kris began, "What's your question?"

Susie didn't know how to respond. Or rather, she had a lot of questions, but she didn't know which one to ask. _How's it like being the only human in a town filled with monsters? How come I've barely heard of you until yesterday? What kind of stuff do you like to do?_ But, Susie knew the question she should be asking, because it was the most important one. "So, why are you teaming up with the same thing that tried to possess you yesterday?"

"Well, it's because of this soul that we can go in and out of the Dark World," Kris explained. "And also..."

"Also what? C'mon, don't leave me hanging, nerd."

"...it wants to find its corpse so it can remember who it was before it died. So, it's requesting my help to find its corpse."

Susie did a double take. "You're telling me we're helping out an actual ghost!?"

"Well, yeah," Kris said, his eyebrows raised. "I thought you already figured that out."

"I was just trying to think of a good insult! I didn't know that you're-" Susie sighed, feeling more embarrassed about the whole exchange earlier. Luckily, she didn't have to stay miserable for long. "Hey, the school's right here!"

Kris and Susie reached the front gate. Kris tugged on the front door. "It's locked," Kris reported.

Susie took a step back, examining the whole school. "Well, we can try getting in through a window," Susie said. "It's not like we have a crowbar, but maybe if we tug on it hard enough it'll come loose. If that doesn't work, I can just use my teeth-"

"Wait, no! We're not breaking into the school!" Kris interrupted.

"Nerd, we're legendary heroes trying to stop the end of the world. I'm sure the scholars of the future aren't gonna mind that we're breaking in."

"No, I mean we're not breaking into the school because we don't need to," Kris said, digging into his pockets again. He pulled out a small metal key. "We're simply unlocking the door."

Susie looked in awe at the tiny key. "How much stuff do you have in your pockets, dude? And also, where'd you get the KEY TO THE SCHOOL from!?"

"My mom gave it to me. Y'know, in case of emergencies," Kris replied. He left out that said emergencies were if he did decide to go to school on a day he slept in, he could actually get into the school.

The lock clicked, and the door swung open. Kris and Susie walked down the hall.

Kris looked to the left and saw Ms.Alphys's classroom. He let out a tiny giggle.

Susie glanced back. "Something funny, dude?"

Kris quickly composed himself. "Nah, just thinking. Like, it was literally yesterday that you were threatening to bite my face off. Now..." Kris trailed off.

"...yeah. It's kinda weird, how things went by so quickly," Susie replied.

"Do you think Berdly'd get a personality shift if we tossed him into the Dark World?" Kris asked.

"Nah, he'd probably get kicked out. Either that or stomped to a pulp by the checker dude," Susie replied.

"That checker dude had amazing legs, though."

"Remember when we launched Ralsei at him to get the crown of his head?"

Kris laughed. "Yeah, that was pretty smart."

Susie gave a small smile. "Thanks."

The two reached the door to the supply closet. Susie reached to open it, but hesitated.

Kris didn't need to ask her what was wrong. What they went through yesterday seemed like something out of a dream, and in this world, they only had each other to make sure that what happened yesterday actually happened. Their newfound friendship was forged due to the Dark World, and Kris certainly didn't know what to do if the portal didn't work.

Susie took a deep breath, her fingers trembling slightly, and threw open the door. The space inside the room was dark, darker than anything either of them had seen. Susie sighed in relief. "I've never been so happy to see something as creepy as this!" she said. She turned to her side, realizing that Kris had backed away a couple of steps, like he did yesterday. "Dude, c'mon, the portal works. Quit acting like a baby."

"I can't help it, it's freaky!"

Susie faced toward the door. She braced herself into a running stance. "Alright, let's go-" she said, diving into the abyss - before falling right onto the floor.

Kris walked into the room. "You have to wait for the floor to collapse, dummy."

Susie glared at Kris. "Dummy? Is that the best you can come up with?"

Kris and Susie waited in the room for a couple of moments.

"So, uh... whaddya think we should do now?"

"Well, if I remember right, the door's supposed to slam shut-"

The door did indeed slam shut, (soundlessly, somehow).

"Yeah, and then the ground's suppose to give way-"

The narrow platform on which both Kris and Susie stood started to shake. It first started giving way from where the door was, and the damage slowly made its way toward Susie and Kris.

"And then we fall."

"Yeah. Now we fall."

The two Lightners then unceremoniously plunged into the world of Dark.

* * *

When Kris came to, he found himself in a place with plenty of cliffs, with leaking wall eyes attached on some of the walls. He loked up to see the sky pitch black above him, but that was constant throughout the entire Dark World. He looked down to see his normal clothes replaced with a set of armor with a pink cape drifting behind him. Yeah, he was in the Dark World, alright.

He looked to see Susie waking up, herself clothed in a leather jacket with a heart-shaped belt. "Well," Susie said, "we're here!"

So far, the soul hadn't been lying to Kris. Because of it, he was here (cyan-colored skin and all) along with Susie back in this bizarre place. Kris laid out a hand to help Susie up. "So," Kris began, "let's meet up with Ralsei first!"

As the two made their way to Ralsei's castle and slid down the waterfall, they arrived at Ralsei's empty kingdom, where the now singular Dark Fountain flowed like a neverending geyser. Well, the kingdom was empty except for one green shape.

Kris waved his arms. "Ralsei-" Kris began, before realizing that he wasn't looking at Ralsei.

A Rudinn slid his way toward the two Lightners. "Hey, it's you two! You guys helped overthrow the King!" the Rudinn eagerly said as an introduction.

"Yeah, yeah, everybody knows that. Do ya know where's Toothpaste Boy?" Susie asked, quickly scanning the room for any sign of him.

"Oh, uh, he said something about meeting with the new king about something," the Rudinn replied.

"That so? Then why are you here?"

"Oh," the Rudinn began, "I followed the Darkner that helped you guys challenge the King when you two first came here," the Rudinn explained. "I saw a lot of empty houses and stuff, and thought, 'Hey, maybe I should live here!' The rent's probably gonna be cheap here, too!"

Kris's expression soured. He didn't like the idea of walking to the other side of the Dark World all the way on foot. Then he remembered something. "Hey, are the magic doors still active?"

"You mean the ones the puzzle guys set up? Yeah, they're still active. Everybody uses them all the time. The other guys want them to make more doors, but the puzzle guys are currently on hiatus right now. Something about crowdfunding for their next big break."

Susie sighed. "Well, at least the walk won't take long. C'mon, let's go, Kris," she called. The two left the Rudinn to admire the architecture of the empty kingdom, and they were on their way.

Even if the walk was made considerably shorter due to the doors, it was still a long distance to travel. Kris and Susie made it through the Field of Hopes and Dreams and found the door.

It was while Kris and Susie were walking in the Scarlet Forest that the two started speaking again. "Y'know," Kris said a little bashfully, "I was terrified the first time we came here."

Susie shot Kris a look. "Really? You didn't show it that much," Susie replied. "Or was it because of your little friend?"

_It was because of me, thank you._

Kris blinked in surprise. "Oh, hey! Didn't think you were hearing us!"

 _I'm always listening in. And, Kris,_ the soul continued, _I don't blame you for being scared. This place truly is... unique, to say the least._

"Oh, cut it with that crap, Red," Susie replied. "It's a place where a bunch of random board games and toys we used to play as kids became sentinent beings. It's definitely more than just unique."

Kris looked up at Susie. "I didn't know you caught onto that."

"Hey, I might not show it, but I got some brains in here, y'know."

The two (or, three)'s conversations stopped as they approached the Card Castle. Unlike last time, they didn't have to work their way up from the dungeon, so they just took the lift and made it to the top floor. As Kris and Susie reached the top floor, they found Ralsei and Lancer talking with each other. Ralsei looked up from the conversation to see the two Lightners approach. "Oh, hi Susie! Hi Kris!" Ralsei shouted excitedly.

Without the hat covering his face, Kris could definitely see the similarities between his friend and his older brother. (And he also realized during the previous day that Ralsei was an anagram for Asriel). Now, Kris knew Ralsei's existence wasn't a mystery, because he saw the horns he used to carry around as a kid.

_"C'mon, Asriel, please? Can't you play some Blaze Fighters II with me?" a younger Kris pleaded to a teenage Asriel. Asriel had books surrounding his desk as he furiously scribbled on a worksheet._

_"Not now, Kris, I'm busy," Asriel said, the corner of his eye trained on Kris._

_"But it'll only take five minutes! And you love playing Blaze Fighters II!"_

_Asriel sighed, putting down his pen. "Sorry, Kris, but I got way too much stuff to deal with from school," Asriel said._

_"But you said you'd be free today!"_

_"Well, my physics teacher didn't," Asriel grumbled as he continued to study._

_"Fine!" Kris shouted. He knew if Asriel wasn't going to come out by himself, then he'd just had to force him out of there. But he knew there was no way he could beat Asriel in a fight. So he decided a subtler approach._

_After retreating from the brothers' room, Kris came back carrying a pair of horns. He stood in the doorway and held them up to the sides of his head. "Look at me, I'm Asriel! I don't do anything fun anymore because I'm a huge nerd! All I do is read boring books and spend all my time in my bedroom!" Kris continued to mock Asriel._

_Eventually, Asriel figured that shutting up Kris was more important than finishing his schoolwork. He got up from his chair and started towards Kris. He chuckled. "You're not the only one who can make dumb impressions, Kris," Asriel chided. He ran to the closet and grabbed the toy sword Kris had gotten for his birthday. "I, Kris Dreemurr the 1st, defender of deer girls, have arrived!"_

_Kris giggled. The two went at it, completely forgetting about Blaze Fighters II and school for a while._

In all honesty, that one spur-of-the-moment decision Kris made might've been the greatest thing he'd done in his short life. "Hey, Ralsei!" Kris shouted.

Susie grinned. "Heya toothpaste boy. And-" she made a courtly bow to her friend, "His Majesty, Lancer the Great."

"Ho ho ho!" Lancer laughed. "Nice to see you two again!" The shortly king got off his throne and bounced towards the Lightners and Ralsei.

Kris smiled. "Do you guys have a place where the four of us can talk?"

"Of course, blue person! What better way to commemorate the reuniting of the Lancer's #1 Fan Club?"

"Oh, and I also made some cakes, too! You can eat them if you two are feeling famished," Ralsei added.

"But we just got here!" Susie protested. "How did you get the time to make cakes for us!"

"There's always time to bake cakes, Susie."

The four found a round table in one of the rooms of the Card Castle and sat down. Kris and Susie eagerly chowed down on the food Ralsei provided as Lancer and him explained what had been going on in the kingdom in the Lightners' absence.

"...so, basically, all the four suits are doing well, even though all the kings have been overthrown," Ralsei summarized.

"Yeah, what he said! Everything's going great down here!" Lancer said. "All the guys like me as their ruler and Lesser Dad's never been happier, now that he gets to enforce rules on everybody again."

"...that being said," Ralsei's voice turning meek, "I have a concern I want to share with you guys."

Kris started to tell him to go on, but Susie interrupted him. "Hey, could we go first? Kris has something important to share," Susie said, pointing her thumb at her friend's heart.

(Well,) Kris thought, (we _should_ tell everybody about you so that everyone's on the same page.)

_Alright, but this time, let me do the talking._

The soul (or Red, which was what Kris and Susie were calling it now) phased out of Kris's body, much to the bewilderment of the two Darkners. "Um, Kris, I don't think your SOUL's supposed to work like that-" Ralsei stammered.

_That isn't his soul, Buttercup._

Ralsei stared at the heart. "Then what-"

Red explained everything that happened yesterday to the two Darkners as concisely as it could. Ralsei and Lancer took it quite better than Kris had expected (though Lancer didn't really know what was going on, so that was probably why).

"...so, you chose which actions Kris could take during our adventure yesterday? Out of the options that he'd ever conceive of thinking?" Ralsei asked the soul.

_Yes, so it wasn't a true possession of his body. I could only choose the actions that Kris would've had any chance of taking without my influence._

Ralsei looked down at his lap, deep in thought. "So, would that make you a ghost?"

 _Yes, and I'm looking for my body. Do you two know of any humans who have lived in the Dark World?_ the soul asked Ralsei and Lancer.

Lancer shrugged his shoulders. "We're all monster Darkners here. We never saw a human before!"

"And I've never read any accounts of a human Darkner in the history of the Dark World, either," Ralsei added.

 _I see. Thank you both._ The soul phased back into Kris's body.

Ralsei adjusted his glasses. "So, would you all now want to hear my concern?"

Susie pointed a finger at Ralsei and Kris gave a thumbs up. "I'll take that as a yes." Ralsei cleared his throat. "Lancer and I were spending some time together-"

"I convinced the guy to get on top of one of the crowned checker pieces and use it as a bike!" Lancer proudly interrupted.

"...did it work out?" Kris asked.

"...surprisingly, it worked out quite well," Ralsei replied, forgetting about his concern for the moment. "It was able to run as fast as Lancer's bike could go. Anyway," Ralsei said as Kris and Susie both imagined the prospect of K.ROUND running at full speed, "I was thinking about the adventure we had together-"

"He was moping," Lancer interjected.

"I wasn't moping, I was reminiscing," Ralsei corrected. "Anyway, I was thinking about the prophecy, and how fun it was to finally complete the legend, when I decided to sing it to myself again. And then I realized that some things didn't add up." Ralsei looked up at Kris and Susie. "Have any catastrophic events happened in your world?"

Kris and Susie glanced at each other. "What do you mean by catastrophic?" Kris asked.

"Has any major calamity happened in your guys' world in recent history? Say at most a century ago?" Ralsei asked.

Kris thought about it. "No, nothing like that. I thought the calamity stuff happened to the Dark World-"

"I've read through the history of our world as far back as I could, and none of the events that happened here would count as the calamity that was supposed to occur before our team was formed," Ralsei explained. "The calamity that occurred when light and dark's balance shifted never happened at all."

"But what about the fountain?" Susie asked. "Wasn't the fountain around Card Castle screwing up the balance?"

"Yes, but your return home sealed the fountain, and that balanced the scales once more," Ralsei said, gesturing to the now-absent geyser of black on the top of the Card Castle. "We haven't encountered the ANGEL's HEAVEN yet, either."

"So what you're saying is that the prophecy is wrong?" Kris suggested.

"No it isn't!" Ralsei said defensively. Ralsei continued, in a meeker voice, "What I meant was, I don't think the prophecy was wrong. I think we've only just started it."

The threat of a looming apocalypse destroying the world itself hung on the minds of everybody in the room like a dark, oppressive cloud. (Red, are you hearing this?) Kris asked.

_I am. What Ralsei's suggesting makes the most sense. The question is, what are we supposed to do before the prophecy's calamity happens?_

Susie was the first one to speak up. "...how about we don't stress about it?" Susie suggested.

"What are you saying!?" Ralsei protested, knocking his chair back as he stood up. "Both of our worlds are at stake if-"

"Hey, hey, easy, easy," Susie said, waving a hand at Ralsei. "This kinda stuff is exactly what I'm talking about."

Ralsei was more confused than angry now. "What do you mean, Susie?"

"I'm saying that if we stress about what's gonna happen at the end of the line, then we're not gonna be focusing on what's happening now. What we do in the meantime is more important then what happens at the end," Susie explained. "Like, if we decided to beat up everybody we came across the first time we came here, we wouldn't be as welcome as we are right now. The same thing probably would've happened - Kris and I seal the fountain and then we go home, but what happens in between is wildly different, right?"

Both Kris and Ralsei looked at Susie like she was speaking in tongues. "You're really in no position to say that, Susie," Kris said.

"Can it, nerd. The point is, if you're right, Ralsei, we literally just started the prophecy. Why do we need to worry about how it ends?"

A thought struck Kris. "Guys, do you know about Ragnarok?"

Susie, Ralsei, and Lancer turned to Kris. "What's that, some kinda cool rock or something? I already got those, so if you wanna give me a gift-" Lancer asked.

"No, the myth of Ragnarok. It's an ancient human myth that a certain series of events would lead to the destruction of the world, and that this calamity was inevitable," Kris explained. "The thing is, the mythos didn't give much heed to Ragnarok, and some myths even involved pushing back the due date on Ragnarok." Kris turned to Ralsei. "I think we need to grow stronger through whatever struggles and stuff we have during our journey, and then we could surive whatever the calamity throws at us and finish the prophecy," Kris suggested.

Ralsei slowly nodded. "Alright. Then I won't worry about the prophecy," Ralsei said with a small smile. "I guess that means our main concern is to stop the balance from shifting one way or another." He fixed the chair he toppled over. "That being said, it wouldn't hurt to start moving before whatever forces are out there take us by surprise." Ralsei pushed up his glasses. "But we can do that tomorrow. What do you guys wanna do?"

With that, the Fun Gang toured around the Card Kingdom and enjoyed their time there. Being with Lancer, coupled with the fact that the trio disposed a mad tyrant of his throne, Kris and the others had a great time talking to the bizarre characters they encountered during their trip for the first time again. They even met K.ROUND again, and got to see Ralsei try his hardest to ride him before he was flung onto the ground (he was okay, he insisted. He could heal himself up). That led to a contest to see who could hang onto K.ROUND the longest, and it was then that Kris realized something important. "Crap, we gotta get back home," Kris said to Ralsei. "Do you know how to get out of here again?"

Ralsei put a hand to his chin. "You two could go through the fountain in my kingdom," Ralsei said, as Susie was finaly flung off of the magnificent checker (and after almost 2 minutes, too).

Ralsei's hypothesis turned out to be true, and after entering the fountain, Kris and Susie ended up on the floor of the supply closet again. Adjusting his eyes, Kris opened the way out as Susie followed suit. The sun didn't seem to set yet, so it was only early evening. A quick glance at the clck confirmed that it was only around 5:00.

Susie rubbed her hand. "So, uh," Susie started, "I guess that's it for today, huh?"

"Yeah. I realized I forgot about something I promised to do yesterday. Or, something it promised to do," Kris said, gesturing to his chest. Kris pulled out his cell phone. Then, realizing something, he turned back to Susie. "But you can come too! If you want," Kris quickly added.

There wasn't really anything to think about for Susie. She figured that since she was having a blast with Kris, she'd continue to have fun if she stuck around with him. And, she'd like for the two of them to hang out as normal teenage friends, for once.

"Whaddya you got in mind?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading!
> 
> Next chapter: sans and paps time


	4. The Skeletons

Kris figured it'd be polite to talk to Sans first, so he dialed the number Sans gave him yesterday. He wasn't sure if it was legitimate, but it was as good a try as any.

After three beeps, a voice picked up. "heya. you've called me."

"I thought this was the hotline for idiot babies?" Kris responded.

A couple of seconds passed before Sans spoke again. "yeah... i lost the lease for that hotline. i'll probably get it back by next year. so, whaddya need?"

Kris leaned closer to the phone. "I'm ready to meet your brother. I'm coming to your house after you hang up."

"oh, hey, you remembered my promise. neat."

Kris looked at Susie, who was watching the conversation. He nodded and looked back toward the phone. "Would it be okay if I brought a friend over?"

"a friend, huh? well, i didn't say you could bring plus-ones..."

Kris deflated a little bit.

"but, i guess i didn't say you couldn't bring them either. and hey, the more the merrier, right?"

Kris's eyes brightened. "Is that a yes?"

"yeah, that's a yes, alright. see ya," Sans said before hanging up.

Kris gave a thumbs up. "He said yes."

"Alright. Guess I have nothing better to do," Susie said. She walked out the school doors and into the outdoors of Hometown. It was still a ways to go before the Sun would truly start to set.

"Wait!" Kris called out. "Do you know where Sans's house is?" Kris asked.

Susie stopped and turned around with a sheepish grin (or something like it - it's hard to mimic a sheep when you're a dragon). "Right. Yeah. You lead the way, Kris," Susie said, indicating him to move forward.

Kris and Susie left the school, with no evidence to suggest their trespassing. Kris led the way to the part of town where Sans's house was. They just had to loop around the corner to find it.

Susie looked up at the house. "Hey, wasn't this place like a restaurant or a pub before?" Susie said, pointing to the building.

"Yeah, but the owner sold it some time ago, I think. I guess Sans owns it now," Kris replied. He saw Sans standing by the house's doorway like he did when he first met Kris. Sans turned to face the two teenagers. "heya, kris. glad you came," he said.

Kris stared at the board on top of the house. The "Grillby" was crossed out with chalk, and an "ans" was scrawled onto the end like a child had done it. It was quite the sight.

"like the sign?" Sans said, standing right beside him.

Kris jumped back, startled. "How'd you-"

"well, i just walked. maybe you need to get your ears checked," Sans responded, cutting Kris off. "and you..." Sans said, turning to Susie, who'd also been staring at the bizarre sign. "don't you know how to greet a stranger?" Sans said, offering a handshake.

Normally, Susie would take that as an insult, but there was something about the way the skeleton said it that made the remark seem innocent. She figured there wasn't any harm, and shook the skeleton's hand. An obnoxiously loud farting noise emitted from Sans's hand, before being suddenly cut off.

Sans pulled back his hand. "hehe, the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick," Sans said. He glanced at the bag, which had a couple of gaping scratches on it. "though i guess i should've pulled out one of the more heavy-duty ones... eh, whatever," Sans said putting the now-ruined whoopee cushion in his pocket. "i'll let you guys in."

Susie didn't really know what to say. She wasn't expecting a childish prank like that from the skeleton. She put her own hand in her pocket and nodded.

Kris watched the exchange, fascinated, as the strange skeleton unlocked the door. "come on in," Sans called out.

Kris looked at Susie. She was wearing a guarded expression again, but it wasn't as severe as the other guarded expressions he'd witnessed. Kris took a deep breath and entered the room.

The bottom floor was massive - and a complete mess.

Boxes were stacked around haphazardly and pushed to the side to make a runway for people to walk in and out. The wooden floor creaked under Kris's steps, and the room was bathed in a dim orange glow. There were a couple of tables set up with fruits and other items stored underneath it. At the end of the room was a table with a cash register. "yeah, we just moved in. it's gonna take a while to get things sorted out," Sans said. He went to the doorway opposite the room and called out, "hey, bro, the guys are here!"

A rumbling noise came from the other room, which grew louder and louder. Sans stepped out of the way as a spinning chair bombarded into the room towards Kris and Susie. Both of them prepared to jump before the wheeled chair suddenly came to a halt.

A short skeleton peered up at the two teenagers. He wore an orange T-shirt with a logo that Kris faintly recognized from one of the old games that Asriel used to collect, some black pants, slippers, and a flowing orange cape that was draped onto the backrest of the chair. "ARE YOU TWO THE FRIENDS SANS WAS TALKING ABOUT?" the skeleton asked.

Susie was the first of the two to come out of their shock. "uh... yeah, we're the guys. Nice to meet ya... paps?" Susie said.

"I AM PAPYRUS SKELETON," the skeleton announced. "OR AS OTHERS KNOW ME..." Papyrus said, putting a hand to his heart and smiling widely, "THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

Kris looked at Sans. "yeah, skeleton's our surname. funny how things work out, huh?" Sans explained. He walked up to the three others in the room. "we, uh, need some help getting settled in, and we figured-"

"WHAT BETTER WAY TO INTRODUCE OURSELVES TO THE PUBLIC THAN TO ASK FOR ASSISTANCE IN OUR SETTLING PROCEDURES?" Papyrus declared, throwing his arms in the air.

Kris and Susie looked at each other. "One second," Kris said as he pulled Susie into a group huddle. Well, he didn't do any pulling, Susie just bowed down to match his height.

"Didja really drag me out here just to help some guys that we don't even know help move in?" Susie hissed.

"I didn't know!" Kris hissed back. "I thought he just wanted us to hang out with his brother or something. At least, that's what he said... but we can't turn away now! They already asked for our help, and we're already in their house!"

"Oh yeah? Watch me." Susie started to turn back to the skeletons to offer some choice words before a voice stopped her.

_I think we should stay._

Susie turned to Kris. "Why would we do that? What reason do we have to help these two weirdos out?"

Kris looked down at his general chest area. "Yeah, I agree. I don't wanna help them out either," Kris added.

"But you just said-"

"I said that because we have to. It's common courtesy, after all," Kris said, trying to defend himself.

"Kris, we both know I'm the last person who needs to care about common courtesy," Susie hissed.

Kris turned his head sideways. "...alright, so you don't know it. For a nerd, you're super dense, you know that?" Susie added.

_Both of you shut up and listen to me!_

Both Kris and Susie turned on the soul. "Where'd you get off being so bossy?" Kris asked the soul.

_Because we should learn more about these two. Especially the first one. I've noticed something... off about him._

Kris was now confused. "What do you mean, 'off'?"

_There's something about him that sets him apart from other monsters. It's like he's emitting a different... aura._

"So you think he could be an enemy?" Susie asked, intrigued.

 _Not necessarily. But I think it would do good for us to learn more about him,_ the soul replied.

"...ok. I trust you," Kris said. He looked back up at Susie. "Let's help them out."

Susie knew she was outnumbered. It was two against one. "Fine," she conceded. "But if this guy turns out to be just some lazy cheapskate that's making us his moving crew, I'm getting out of here." She turned to the two skeletons. "We're in."

"EXCELLENT!" the smaller skeleton cried. He jumped out of the chair and grabbed both Kris and Susie's hands. "WE WILL START WITH MY BEDROOM!"

Papyrus led Kris and Susie up the stairs. On the room above there were plenty of doors. Papyrus led the two to a specific door. Hanging on the door was a horizontal piece of binder paper with "PAPYRUS ALLOWED" written in elaborate text. Papyrus swung open the door and the three went inside.

The room didn't have any paint. On one corner of the room there was a black flag with the skull-and-crossbones sign on it. there were a couple of desks set up, and a small sleeping bag in the corner.

"What's the flag about?" Kris said, pointing to it.

"SANS SAYS THIS IS THE FLAG OF HIS GROUP, THE 'SKELETAL SYNTAX'. THEY DON'T MEET MUCH, THOUGH." Papyrus pointed to the bed. "SANS SAYS HE'S GOING TO GET A RACECAR BED FOR ME ONCE WE SETTLE IN." Then, he pointed to the desk. "AND HERE IS WHERE I WILL INSTALL MY GAMING PERSONAL COMPUTER!" He pointed under the desk to a red suitcase. "ALL THE PARTS ARE HERE."

Kris looked at the suitcase. "My brother was great at making PCs. I can help you with that," Kris told Papyrus.

"Oh, so you're just gonna leave all the heavy lifting to me, huh?" Susie asked. But secretly, she was glad the little bundel of bones didn't ask her to hlep with the machinery. She figured she'd do something a little less complex. "So, do you got anything for me to do, kid?"

Papyrus put a hand to his chin. "OH! THERE'S MY BUNDLE OF COOL THINGS DOWNSTAIRS! I'D LIKE YOU TO HELP CARRY THAT, PLEASE!"

Susie sighed. "Good grief... that ghost better be right," she thought to herself.

And so, Susie and Kris spent the next half hour helping out Papyrus. While Susie loaded the "COOL THINGS" (a collection of comics and action figures that somehow was as heavy as a bench presser) into Papyrus's room, Kris summoned up the technical skills he learned from Asriel and started assembling Papyrus's PC. They didn't even need the manual because he'd seen his brother do it so many times.

It was when Susie was lugging a moderately binder filled with comics about a heroic knight with an unreasonably large sword that Papyrus screamed in excitement. "AT LAST, THE GREAT PAPYRUS'S GREAT COMPUTER OF PLAYING HAS FINALLY BEEN INSTALLED!" Papyrus declared, gesturing towards the screen.

Kris scrolled through the catalog of games Papyrus had. "Hey, you have _Angel's Souls II_ on here?" Kris asked.

"YES!" Papyrus replied. "MY BROTHER SANS BOUGHT IT FOR ME TO TEACH ME A LESSON IN PERSEVERANCE."

"My mom would never allow us to get it. She'd say it's too violent," Kris muttered in amazement and envy.

Papyrus took that as an opportunity to show off the game. He opened the title screen and made it to the character menu. The first profile's name was "THE GREAT PAPYRUS'S BLIND PLAYTHROUGH!!!" which clocked at a total of 24 hours. Below it was a second profile labeled simply "sa", clocking in at a total of 6 hours and with somehow higher stats than Papyrus's character.

Kris really wanted to try the game out, but his conscience got the better of him. He knew that someone else should get the chance to play it first. He turned to Susie. "Do you wanna check out the game?"

Susie stopped. "Me? Well, I don't really play video games, and-"

"DO NOT WORRY!" Papyrus interrupted. "THIS GAME ISN'T AS BAD AS PEOPLE BELIEVE. ANYBODY CAN PLAY THIS GAME!" He urged Susie toward the computer and made a new profile for her. "PLUS, THERE IS A TON OF THINGS FOR YOU TO CRUSH!"

Susie sighed. She did enjoy crushing things. "Alright," Susie said, "How does this work?"

"EXCELLENT!" Papyrus declared. "YOU FIRST NEED TO CHOOSE WHAT CLASS YOU WILL BE OCCUPYING ON YOUR JOURNEY..."

Kris watched Papyrus and Susie huddle over the computer monitor. (Well, I don't regret coming here. If this is a place where I can play _Angel's Souls,_ then-)

_Your game will have to wait. This is the perfect chance._

(Perfect chance? For what?)

_We can head downstairs and learn more about Sans._

(Oh, right. Sure.)

"Alright, I'm heading downstairs to take a break!" Kris called out, leaving the room. Papyrus waved while Susie put a hand in the air.

* * *

Meanwhile, downstairs, Sans was unpacking some of his things. He was combing through a pile of cartridges when he heard somebody come down the stairs. He turned and saw it was Kris.

"What's that?" Kris asked, pointing to the cartridges.

Sans looked at the box. "retro games. this one's called skyfreed. it's a cult classic. i tried to get my bro to play it, but he called me a boomer, so i laid off." He looked at Kris. "so, what's up?"

Sans recognized that Kris was acting differently than he did yesterday. When they first met, Kris was speaking cordially, like he was reading off of a script or something. Sans chalked it up to the kid trying to be polite, but today Kris was behaving a lot less like a puppet. He looked like he was more in control of his own body.

Well, it wasn't his place to judge him, anyway. He was a skeleton, not an exorcist.

While Sans was monologuing to himself, Kris thought up a reply. "So, why did you come to Hometown?" Kris asked.

Sans's eye sockets perked up. "me and paps used to live in the big city. it was nice and all, but it was just too hectic, y'know? so, we started looking for a calmer place to stay." Sans put his hands in his pockets. "we found this guy, grillby, who wanted to move into the big city and make a name for himself and his cooking. so, we traded properties." Sans spread his bony arms out. "and then we landed this place."

Kris nodded, and then bumped into another box. He picked it up. The box was simply labeled 'magic medals'. "Hey, what are these medals?" Kris asked, pointing to the box. Sans didn't strike Kris as much of an overachiever.

"oh, those are my awards," Sans said.

Kris opened the box. It was loaded with shiny material and ribbons. "That's a lot of awards," Kris said.

"yeah, i was pretty good at using magic. i got a couple of awards from some competitions i went to when i was young," Sans explained. "the prize money also helped us a ton."

Kris passed the box to Sans. "Sorry for looking."

"hey, don't sweat it. you're one of our moving buddies," Sans replied. "speaking of moving buddies..." Sans said, getting up. "hey, paps, we're taking a break. bring the other moving kid along with you."

Two sets of footsteps, one heavy and one light, bounded down the stairs. Papyrus reached first, with a smile that glowed brighter than normal. "SANS, YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT SUSIE DID!"

"what did she do, dude?"

"SHE BEAT THE CHASER ON HER 5TH TRY! AND SHE JUST STARTED!" Papyrus beamed at Susie. "IT TOOK ME A WEEK TO GET PAST HIM!"

Susie gave a shy grin. " 't wasn't that big of a deal. Ya just had to outrun him until he was out of breath, and then attack him until he died," Susie muttered.

"guess he gave you guys a _run_ for your money, huh?"

"SANS!"

"hehehe. anyway, i'm gonna order pizza for all of us. is that okay, guys?"

Susie and Kris both nodded.

"cool. guess i'll try that ice-e's place everybody's been raving about..."

A half hour later, Kris, Susie, and the two skeletons were all lounging around, eating pizza.

"man, that guy on the phone was spooky. a real _pizza_ work, y'know," Sans said, winking.

Papyrus and Kris groaned. Susie shot Sans the most unimpressed look she could muster.

"hey, i thought that was pretty humerus," Sans said. He glanced towards the clock. "it's getting late. you guys should be heading home."

And with that, Kris and Susie left Sans and Papyrus's home/grocery store.

"GOODBYE, FRIENDS!" Papyrus shouted, waving his hands.

"say hi to your mom for me, kris!"

Kris's eyes narrowed, but he still waved goodbye along with Susie. The two walked together for a bit. "So, what was so special about the guy?" Susie asked, pointing to Kris's chest.

 _As far as I could tell, nothing. All we figured out was that he's really good at using magic._ The soul paused. _I suppose that means what we did just now was a huge waste of time._

"Nah, it wasn't a waste," Susie replied.

Kris stopped. "Really?" Kris asked.

Susie's cheeks darkened. "We figured out what that skeleton's deal was. Doesn't seem like he has anything to do with the Dark World."

"No, I'm just saying 'really' because you said you were going to-"

"Shut it, nerd."

Kris and Susie made it to the crossroads. "So, uh," Susie said, "Guess that's it for today."

"Wanna go to the Dark World again tomorrow?" Kris asked.

"11:00 okay with you?"

"Fine with me."

"Alright, see ya," Susie said. She turned away and started walking away. Kris waved a hand, but then thought it was too childish, so he just stood there with his hand awkwardly in the air. The dragon didn't show any signs of noticing as he turned the corner and vanished behind the cover of the autumn trees.

Kris put his hand down over his chest and sighed. "Guess we should be heading home, too." Quietly thinking about how to phrase what he did today so his mom wouldn't freak out, he opened the door and came back home.


End file.
